Cleveland Cavaliers: Rodney Hood deal must work out

Rodney Hood recently accepted a one-year qualifying offer to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The deal needs to work out, for his sake and the team’s.

The drama of contract disputes is often gripping. As league superstars vying for lucrative contracts stole the headlines, the Cleveland Cavaliers quietly squabbled with wing Rodney Hood.

After failing to reach a long-term agreement with the Cavs or any other team as a restricted free agent, Hood signed his qualifying offer of $3.4 million for one year. Both sides need this seemingly minor deal to be a home run.

In other words, Cleveland hopes for more of this Rodney Hood:

The contract grants Hood a clean sheet. He averaged a career-high 16.8 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting from deep in 39 games while in a Utah Jazz uniform before the trade to Cleveland last season. His shooting percentage notched a career-high 42.4 percent. It’s not hard to do in a town known for a quiet nightlife, but Hood was one of the grooviest things about Salt Lake City.